Begin Again
by ninaverkaik
Summary: What if Oliver didn't survive the duel with Ra's al Ghul, how would Starling City cope without the Arrow, how would Felicity cope without him. A trio of Avengers is there to protect the city and one of them is there to keep a promise to protect Felicity.
1. Author's Note

Oliver is gone, all of Team Arrow has left Starling City except Felicity, she refuses to leave the city that holds so many memories for her. But with Team Arrow gone the city she once loved is up for grabs, until a trio of Avengers comes to town to protect it and its citizens. No one knows who these mystery people are but Felicity is determined to figure out who saved her from an attack. Not only that she has to figure out if these feelings she has for her new neighbor, Steve Rogers, are real and if she's willing to open her heart up again to love.

An Arrow/Captain America crossover fan fiction for Stelicity fans. Special thanks to GoldenSongbird for the coverart for the story.


	2. Chapter 1

**Setting: Arrowverse: Post 3x09 AU in the Arrowverse. Flashverse: Second season. Marvelverse: One year before CA:TWS.**

 **I do not own these characters or properties nor do I profit from this work. All rights, all characters and any and all quotes belong to their prospective companies.**

 **If anyone has any comments, thoughts, or ideas on any part of the story please feel free to contact me and remember, Reviews keep it going!**

 **A VERY HUGE thank you to GoldenSongbird for creating the cover art for this story, Shan literally took what was in my mind and made it a reality. Amazing work!**

 **Chapter 1: Reality sucks!**

" _This is a duel…Oliver, with one of the most dangerous men that has ever walked the earth." The concern and worry was shown heavily on Felicity's face; she didn't want the man she loved going to fight Ra's. It wasn't that she didn't believe their love could conquer anything, it was that she wasn't ready for the prospect of losing him forever._

" _I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think I could win." No matter what he said she was never going to shake this bad feeling that she had, she knew that she had to say something, anything, to somehow convince Oliver to stay._

 _"I don't worry that you can beat him. I am ter-ri-fied you won't kill him, that's not who you are anymore. And I'm afraid that Ra's is going to use your humanity against you." Before she could continue on her epic speech he said it, the words she needed to hear._

" _You're right…I'll stay." Hearing those words from him took her aback, she was ready to say more, ready to profess her undying love, ready to tie him to her chair to get him to stay. But instead he said exactly what she needed to hear._

" _Really? Are you sure?" As much as she wanted him to stay she didn't want him to come to that decision just because of her, she knew that even if Oliver stayed Ra's would still be coming and Thea would be the target. Was she really that horrible of a person that she would sacrifice Thea just to save Oliver?_

" _I'm sure of one thing…I love you" And that was it, all she needed to hear to know he was making the right decision, cupping her face in his palm he bent his head down ready to kiss her but something was wrong. Blood dripped from his mouth as a scream came out of Felicity's throat, this wasn't happening he said he was staying, he said I love you. "No, NO Oliver please, NO, OL-I-VER!"_

Felicity woke from her dream, sweat dripping off of her face desperately trying to catch her breath. It had been 4 months since Oliver went off to fight Ra's Al Ghul and since that time there was no word from him, and no trace of him on the planet. When it had been 1 week and still no word from Oliver Felicity asked Barry Allen, now known as The Flash, to see if he could locate him. The results were what Felicity already knew in her heart, Oliver was gone, the only trace left of him was blood found on a blade at the top of a sacred mountain in Nanda Parbat.

While the news came as a shock to others, it only verified what Felicity knew in her heart. She knew the moment he left this would be the last time, she knew the moment the blade went into him because she felt it. People say you know when your soul mate dies, that link the connection you had to them is severed and is an indescribable feeling.

Since then time was a blur, crime in the city was at an all-time high, new criminals tried to take over, and as hard as Diggle and Roy fought it, it just wasn't the same without Oliver there. Oliver was the glue that not only held the team together, but held the city together. Without him there, the city would fall, that was until a couple weeks ago.

A new trio had come to town, something no one saw coming, at first everyone thought the Arrow as back, criminals were taken down with arrows and left at the police department's door step. But then it got weirder, when questioned they would speak of an archer, a red headed woman, and a man with a shield. That's when a few strokes of her keyboard showed Felicity that there were new vigilantes in town, but that's not what people called them, they called them Avengers. Sure when Oliver went around town at first he was called a criminal but when these guys did the exact same thing they were heroes.

With these new protectors here there seemed to be little to no need for Felicity, Diggle, and Roy. Things for them went back to "normal" if you could call it that, whatever normal was it sucked. Diggle started a new position with A.R.G.U.S. and was falling right in the flow of things but that didn't stop him from continuing to check up on Felicity from time to time. Roy and Thea left Starling City agreeing that being in the same city that Oliver once called home was too difficult for them to handle, as well as they needed to stay one step ahead of the League of Assassins. Malcom Merlin made sure they were safe, well he made sure Thea was always safe, seeing as she was the only person besides Tommy he ever truly cared about. With Oliver failing to kill Ra's Malcom was sure that he or Thea was next on the Leagues radar so all three fled. Leaving only one person left in Starling, Felicity. The thought to leave here never crossed her mind, because deep in her heart there was still a little part of her that hoped Oliver was still alive, even though it was a very tiny piece of hope.

Realizing it was late, or early however you decided to look at it, Felicity knew there was no going back to sleep, it was no use when she was already wide awake. 'Might as well make use of my time.' She thought to herself as she got out of bed walking over to her dresser. Opening her drawers, she pulled out a pink tank top and gray stretch pants, which left little to the imagination throwing them on and laced up her running shoes. While she wasn't much of the sparing, salmon ladder, workout type like her old team was, she could at least run. Putting her earbuds in she walked out the front door of her apartment locking the door behind her, turning she was ready to start her run but instead she ran into her new neighbor, crashing into his well-toned chest.

"Oh God I'm so sorry" taking an ear bud out of her ear Felicity looked up, way up into the deep blue eyes of her neighbor Steve Rogers, his well-toned body and perfectly sculpted face surely made the other women in the building swoon over him, well at least it made Felicity swoon a little. "I hope I didn't hurt you, um, I mean I know I couldn't hurt someone like you, not that you're un hurt able, I'm sure you hurt, everybody hurts, that's the name of a song, and I'm rambling on…3…2…1…sorry about that" Steve smiled down at her, his smile enough to make her heart skip a couple beats, the way he looked down at her was the same way Oliver did which hurt her heart more than she thought it would. "Up a little early this morning ma'am?" "I told you it's Felicity, ma'am makes me feel old and I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd go out for a run, they say it's the best way to start your morning. Although I'd rather just have coffee. But running into you is good too. Not that I waited for you to get home just so I could run into you that would be stalkerish. Not that I stalk you. Did I just say that? Because I don't. Stalk you. Or anyone. I'm un-stalkable. People see me and they think, 'Man that girl couldn't stalk a deaf man.' Not that I stalk deaf people but I mean you could probably just sneak right up to them. That sounds horrible. I don't do this. I don't stalk people. I don't stalk you. I'm going to shut up now since I've thoroughly humiliated myself."

Steve couldn't help but smile at her, he had only been in the building for a few weeks and having her as a neighbor was the best part of being here. Natasha had insisted he get a place closer to her and Clint but when his saw this building he felt drawn to it and knew this was where he needed to live. It was close enough to the city that he could get there fast, but still a good way away that he could just stare at the skyline on nights like tonight. All of it reminded him of his home in Brooklyn, it may have been a smaller city but it still had the same action as his hometown. "I think it's cute when you ramble on."

"Well your cu…I better get going." She couldn't believe he thought she was cute! The absolute specimen of a man that lived next door to her thought she, Felicity Smoak was cute. "Are you sure you should go out this early without someone with you? There's no telling how many crazies are out there just waiting." He said with such concern, he had just finished his patrols in the city and caught a handful of criminals just waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting woman.

"I'm ok, trust me I know how to take care of myself, but thanks for sounding worried." She quickly put her earbud back in her ear and hurried down the hallway before he could continue, as much as she appreciated someone being concerned about her, that was Oliver's job. Or it was before he died, the thought of someone else trying to protect her other than Dig or Roy felt like a betrayal to Oliver's memory and what they had shared.

The cold morning hit her lungs with a burn, but she welcomed it, used it to push herself to run faster. To run as far away from Steve and those feelings she felt, run from the reality that Oliver truly was gone and was never coming back. Nothing she did could bring him back, even after everything that she'd seen, everything new and different in the world, there was no bringing Oliver back. Their story had ended and her new life, a life without Oliver, well it sucked.

Running faster she turned and quickly realized she was in an area she didn't recognize, her heart racing faster she turned around trying to find her way back towards her normal run only to find a group of 4 men blocking her path, removing her earbuds she tried to smile at them. "I'm sorry guys I seem to have lost my way, mind if I pass by you gentlemen?"

"Yeah you can pass by, after we're done with you." The bigger of the men spoke with a voice that could make walls crawl. It was then Felicity knew today was not going to be a good day.


End file.
